A Slytherin and A Gryffindor
by BlueRowley
Summary: While coming up with curses "for enemies," a young Severus Snape and Lily Evans have a talk about other ways of dealing with bullies. Written for Quidditch Leaque Fanfiction Competition, Round 3.


Written for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Season 7 – Round 3

Title: A Slytherin and A Gryffindor

Team: Arrows

Chaser 3 Prompt: The Nati of Himachal Pradesh; write about a character who makes a friend that makes them peaceful (This can include feeling peaceful or curbing their violent tendencies).

Optional Prompts: 4: color (lapis lazuli). 6: quote (No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.) 14: poem, _A Friend, _Gillian Jones.

Word Count: 1644

Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter

For Reference:

A person who will listen and not condemn  
Someone on whom you can depend  
They will not flee when bad times are here  
Instead they will be there to lend an ear  
They will think of ways to make you smile  
So you can be happy for a while  
When times are good and happy there after  
They will be there to share the laughter  
Do not forget your friends at all  
For they pick you up when you fall  
Do not expect to just take and hold  
Give friendship back, it is pure gold.

_A Friend_, by Gillian Jones

* * *

Fourteen-year-old Severus Snape sat in the Owlery waving his wand over a burn on his arm he had earned thanks to James Potter and Sirius Black. They had been brewing a Girding Potion in Professor Slughorn's class that morning when Black thought it brilliant to trip Severus, causing the teen to stumble and brush up against his cauldron. Slughorn had suggested going to the Hospital Wing, but Severus chose to finish up his brewing and tend to his injury on his own.

His healing spell appeared to have little effect, however. He sighed, setting his wand down and opening his potions book, picking up his quill. Written in the margins was the word "sectum" followed by several crossed out words. Severus wrote in "cutis." He picked up his wand and gave it a flick.

"Sectumcutis," he said.

Nothing happened.

"Sectumcutis!" he said again with a little more force.

Still nothing.

Growling under his breath, he set his wand down. He would find the right word eventually, and then he would turn his creation against his enemies. He leaned back against the wall, staring out a window at the blue lapis sky, listening to the owls' hooting and crooning softly.

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Severus jumped to his feet with his wand pointed at the intruder, a hex at the tip of his lip.

Lily Evans appeared in the doorway She held her hands up defensively.

"Hey," she said, "it's just me."

"Lily?" Severus lowered his wand. "Sorry, I didn't . . ."

"It's okay," Lily smiled, stepping inside the Owlery. "It's nice and quiet up here. Quite a relief from the Gryffindor common room. I can see why you come up here often."

Severus nodded, wondering why Lily had followed him.

"I saw what happened in class," she continued.

Severus self-consciously pulled his sleeve down over the burn. Lily noticed and reached into her robe pocket, pulling out a small green container. Severus recognized the burn salve.

"I brought this." She held out the container.

Severus frowned. "Why did you bring it?"

"For you, obviously."

"But why? Why do you bother with me, the poor, neglected, friendless Slytherin when you have company like the perfect, fun Potter and Black?"

"You know how I feel about those childish idiots." Lily stepped closer, trying to encourage Severus to take the container. "Besides, you were my friend first. And this is what friends do for each other, no matter how bad the times or what situations we might be going through at school or home. You know that."

"You're wasting your time on me."

"I'll decide how I spend my time. Not take this already."

Severus slowly accepted the container, looking down on the lid. It was labeled "Lily Evans, Burn Salve, Fourth Year." It had been a potion Slughorn had the class brew earlier in the year. He had already gone through his entire container in just a few months.

"Thanks, Lily, really."

Lily nodded and waited as Severus quickly applied the salve so he could return the container to Lily. She accepted her potion back, slipping it into her pocket.

Severus sat back down and pulled his book in his lap. Lily slid down next to him, adjusting her robe as she did so. She glanced down at the book, but Severus flipped through the pages to a new chapter, one he had not marked up with notes. He pretended to study while Lily stared.

"What does sectumcutis mean?" Lily asked.

Severus considered not answering. What would Lily think of him if he told her? But he had never lied to Lily yet, and he certainly didn't want to start now. He cleared his throat and said, "Severed skin. It's supposed to be a spell, but it doesn't work. Probably never will, so it's nothing to worry about."

Severus waited to hear her response, biting the inside of his cheek. She would hate him now. For sure. She would see just how dark and twisted he really was and condemn their friendship to the darkest corner of hell.

"I get it," Lily said, surprising Severus. She fiddled with her lapis lazuli stone necklace, twirling the stone in her fingers. "I get why you feel like you need those spells. If I was being targeted by some bullies, I might do the same."

"Really?" Severus raised an eyebrow. Why wasn't Lily on her feet and out the door yet? Honestly, he was glad she wasn't running away from him yet, but he could not fathom why she would willingly stay at his side after all this time.

"But I think that anger begets anger, and if I fight back, I would only add fuel to the fire. Don't you think?"

"It is not fair to me to just lay back like some run-of-the-mill first year while they throw all the hexes and curses at me first."

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Severus sighed and looked back down at his book. It was hard to feel any anger or resentment with Lily sitting at his side. "I guess not, but they think they can get away with anything. And snitching never helps, all the professors are on their side, even the headmaster. This spell I'm working on . . ."

"Will only make things worse," Lily interrupts. "I think, and this is just a suggestion, if you can find something that helps you calm down enough to walk away from their antics, you could save yourself a lot of trouble. And burn salve."

Severus snorted, but said honestly, "I don't think there is anything on this planet that makes me feel calm."

"Memories can help. What about that time when you and I were at my parents' house? We were like ten or something? Thanksgiving, remember? After that incident with your . . . err, well, we had dinner together and you tried my mum's homemade pumpkin pie?" Lily frowned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Or Christmas that same year? Remember that toboggan I had gotten, and we went down East Cloak's hill even though it was marked 'no sledding?'"

Severus did remember that, and he smirked at Lily.

"We got into so much trouble with the cops for that one."

"I told you to turn the toboggan."

"It was going too fast."

"You should have let me sit in the front."

"Don't blame that event on me, it was your idea in the first place!"

Severus and Lily laughed at the memory.

"I guess that last memory isn't exactly peaceful, but it's a fun one. Here," Lily removed the necklace she was wearing and held it out to Severus. "Take this. It's a lapis lazuli stone. I used to collect stones like these when I was younger. Maybe it's superstition, but they do help me feel calm. Even if you just touch it and think of the fun we used to have as kids. I'm sure if you leave Potter and Black alone for a while, they might leave you alone."

Severus looked down at the stone resting in his palm. Its deep blue reminded him of the ocean, and he remembered a day when The Evans had invited him on a trip to the beach. The squishy, warm sand under his feet, the cold water just touching his toes as the tide came in and out, the sun's warmth beating down on him. With Lily's laughter encouraging him into a game of Marco Polo, that day, he had truly felt calm and peaceful. He shook his head.

"I can't take this, Lily, it's yours."

"I'm giving it to you," she insisted with a shake of her head. "As a friend. Keep it. I hope it helps."

"Thank you."

"I have to get to Transfiguration. Good luck with that spell of yours, but remember what I said, okay?"

"Always," Severus smiled, closing his fingers around the stone.

When Lily left, Severus leaned back against the wall. He was lucky to have Lily as a friend. He sat there for nearly an hour thinking about their conversation, staring down at the stone now and then. He finally left the Owlery to return to his dorm.

On his way back, he spotted Potter and Black walking toward the Great Hall. They made eye contact, and the two Gryffindors glared at the Slytherin. Severus instinctively reached for his wand in his robe pocket, and as he did so, his fingers brushed against the stone. He frowned and pulled out the necklace, it's blue enveloping him with a sense of calm once more. Did this thing really work? Severus looked over at Potter and Black, who also had hands on their wands, waiting.

_"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,"_ Lily's words echoed in his head.

It was then that Severus knew that it was not the stone that calmed him, but the one who had given him the stone. Only Lily could make him feel peaceful when he wanted to inflict pain on those who had hurt him. And the stone was a gift from her, and by holding it, he could feel her presence. And that calmed him more than anything.

This once, just this once, he would heed her words and walk away. He would not be the victim here, he would be the superior and mature of the three by walking away.

Severus turned around and took a different hall to the Slytherin Common Room, smirking at the muttered disbelief he could hear from Potter and Black. He placed the stone back in his pocket. He was sure he wouldn't always be able to walk away from the obnoxious Gryffindors, and if they lashed out at him, he would absolutely retaliate. But every now and then, he would try to walk away.

For Lily.

* * *

On a side note, this short does not reflect my personal views of bullying or the situation between Potter and Snape. Its just a quick story for the competition.


End file.
